This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (572 messages)
Stephen, I don't like having to fork over cash for every meeting. A seminar….that's different. The So Cal group is pretty solid thanks to Bob. I'll see ya there. Sanford
Stephen, An hour's drive…..yeah, but it has been worth it. LA had a users group, but it deteriorated and dispersed. Funny, since there have to be tons of 3DS users in LA. Maybe they are all recluses! Sanford
Greg, Bob told me they changed locations. I will be there with my Organix demo. Let's do lunch…. Sanford
Stephen, There is a large active users group in Orange county that I attend periodically. If you are interested, post a message to Robert Weil, (75121,2507),who is the grand potentate of said user's group. I'm sure he will be happy to tell you about it. There are always product demos…
Greg, Quad patches for 3DS for Sega? Great, but can ordinary mortals obtain this translator? Does it have a release date? Sounds like it would be something good for real-time 3DS virtual worlds. Are you going to be at the So Cal. 3ds users extravaganza in Nov? Sanford
Jack, If you want quad patches, you need to get an output like a Wavefront .OBJ file. I know that some programs like Lightwave can create .OBJ files. Almost all programs that run on the SGI will generate quad patch output, but some are not exportable very easily. .RIB files…
Bob, I can't make this Saturday. But you can put me down for Organix in Nov. I'll call you to get new directons. Regards. Sanford
#196191-
#Nov. Users Group Mtg.
Message #196318
Bob, Things are OK. I'm making an Octopus with Organix metaballs and using Keyscript to animate. I would be happy to demonstrate that at the meeting. I have Blob sculptor. Its a fun program. I think it is Alfonso Hermida who is the developer….Is he going to be there too?…
Bob, Sure, I think I can make the meeting. There is a ton of stuff to talk about. How about metaballs modeling and animation with Organix? Sanford
#Script follow objects
Message #195423
Martin, I just bought The Script Extension. I have been looking for some scripts that show some ways to select and move a certain area of pixels, but so far I havn't found anything. I would like to use it to change the expressions on a texture mapped face. Is…
Mark, Thanks. Yes, Renderman is the high-end renderer of choice. I would hope that MAX comes up with some "shader" type of renderer like Renderman so you can write your own favorite shaders to get the look you want. I expect to buy at least one of the OpenGL Glint…
Alan, I certainly have never heard of Celebris. Do they make Alpha clones? Could you tell me where to ask about them? More questions…..I have run across a few people who assemble their own Alphas. Have you looked into that? Sanford
Mark, Your data makes it look like the Alpha is still the most affordable system for the bucks. How much would MAX suffer (windows NT speedwise) if you don't run an accelerator board? Or do you have to use one to get MAX to perform? Is Gary Y. running an…
Alan, A daughter card. Cool way to do it. So you just order your new Alpha CPU(s) and you're running? I didn't pick up the Alpha literature because I was thinking it was out of reach for me. I didn't think about going with an upgradable DEC PC. Its time…
Jeffrey, I have decided to put on my wirter's hat and interview the big boys at DEC and Intergraph to get some direct info. I will then publish that info in my Pro CGI magazine and post the same info here on the forum for those who want the fastest…
John, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I am now determined to find a DEC dealer in L.A who can let me play with the machine. After I look at that, I will continue trying to find out if the multi-processor pentium will be lots slower or only a little slower,…
Alan, I waiting and seeing (hopefully). I just have to keep researching until I discover the best platform. When I buy MAX and a new computer I want to pick the right one. Do you know which model of Aplha Gary Y. said he was testing MAX on? He made…
Alan, So your DEC has the Intel chip… doesn't it also have a big ziff socket for the Alpha chip? Or do you need to change motherboards to take advantage of a 275 mhz? Sanford
Jeffrey, Thanks for the technical info. I went around at Siggraph but I still didn't manage to find out this stuff. (I was busy MAXing out at the Autodesk booth) I guess we will have to wait to see if NT and MAX really scream on the Alpha…. Sanford
John, Great news. I want to hear about this machine…. is it available as a motherboard? I am in the market for a new computer and I need lots of info. I have been getting mixed views on whether more than two is a waste. It would be cool to…
#187326-
#MAX Systems
Message #187810
Martin, Somewhere in the mass of stuff I read at Siggraph, I read a sentence saying that SGI had recently run Windows NT. I was hoping someone else might be able to confirm this, but as yet it is still an unconfirmed rumor that I started. Sorry if it is…
#187312-
#MAX Systems
Message #187808
Jeffrey, I am waiting for Alan Iglesias to do a bench test with his Alpha. Who else out there have one of these hot rods? I wonder if there is anything bad we should all know before we all start having Alpha fantasies? Sanford
Jeffrey, I think all of us are going to swing toward Alphas if the two chip performance limit on Pentiums is engraved in stone. I expect to keep my pentium 100 system running R4 as is, then get a whole new system for MAX. That way all my old IPAS's…
Kevin, Thanks. I guess there is no free lunch. I was hoping you could just keep adding pentiums. Sanford
David, I worked with Cornel systems at Metrolight. Martin Foster said that they were set up to take dual 120 mhz Pentiums, but at that time we were only running 100 mhz. I havn't asked about 133 mhz yet. Of course Intergraph says they 6 processors running, but I didn't…
Jeffrey, The super-system build up is next on my list. Dual 133mhz Pentiums with 512 megs would be ideal. I checked out the Intergraph computer ….with 6 pentiums (so the hype says). Any idea if MAX will be able to take advantage of a 6 processor setup, or is two…
Terry, I believe the render box always shows the scene total faces…but I will have to test it to see. I look at the scene information file to check on each individual item. Good luck Sanford
Jeffrey, C++ is going to be manditory in the future. I have started studying, but I am really not a programmer. I will probably keep my 3DS 4 machine intact because I also have a ton of IPAS's that I don't want to throw away. Well, that's progress. Sanford
Jeffrey, Alias is a very able program, but people are misinformed about its speed. It isn't any faster than 3DS in many cases. It just has more sophisiticated tools than 3DS4, better particle systems and extensive spline and patch controls. But, after seeing MAX, I am very hopeful that we…
Terry, It sounds like you are approaching answers for your problems. I havn't seen seez.zip…I downloaded the first meshpaint demo, but it was not very subtle and I havn't purchsed the program yet, until it has better control available. I guess I'm spoiled by photoshop's tools. Good luck, Sanford
Terry, In the Digimation version of metaballs you can have more than one metaballs object in a scene. You can also have many sub groups. The face count goes way down if you convert the metaballs to a mesh object, run optimize and then run the animation using bones. Of…
Roy, Flock O.B. seems to work great with rapid motion like fighting and dancing, jumping, etc. The instability in those cases in not noticed. Sanford
Jeffrey, I think the Alpha would do much better. The Alias was actually quite slow on the SGI. Sanford
Roy, Last year I ran Flock O Birds with a Onyx Reality Engine set up with Alias. My impression was fairly simple….Flock OB.s is very noisy and super sensative to any metal object in the room like rebar in a concrete floor. We had to build an all-wood 4 foot-high…
Anne, I took a look at the message about "bad animation." It would seem that someone so much better at animation than 80% of the people on this forum should show her work and tell us how it is all supposed to be done. I wonder if this person earns…
Paul, I will upload a flic of the Splash to show you how metaballs and vapor work together. They both are very cool IPAS's. Sanford
Paul, Glad you liked the gator. I'm building the splash where the gator attacks the bird.. . I am mixing Vapor IPAS particles into the Metaballs with a large particle size to make the part of the splash that breaks up into tiny drops. I'm putting emitter objects into the…
Danny, The splash will be a "brute force" type animaiton. Moving all those balls around is confusing at first. Thank 3DS for color selection sets. I'm still trying to figure out small ripples that indicate the gator's progress through the water. I'm about to put bones in the gator's head.…
#Metaballs – PXP/AXP
Message #181290
Danny, I just uploaded a JPG of the aligator I told you about to the IPAS library. It should be viewable in a day or so. (gatorhd.jpg) I did it with your Metaballs modeler in very little time. I love the preview window and your whole interface is cool. I…
Danny, Thanks. I love to explore new stuff! I will run it through it's paces and see what I can build. I appreciate the chance to write about it too. It gives me incentive to really learn how things work. Sanford
Kelly, Hi. I guess good mental health is not a prerequisite for doing cool images in 3D Graphics. (G) Being crazy actually helps. How's the magazine going? Sanford
Danny, Patch Modeler……I'll go see if it is in the library yet. I looked and didn't find the demo yesterday. I would like to write an article for 3D Artist about it, unless someone else is already doing that. If you read 3D Artist, you may have seen my articles….the…
Danny, I'm going to try it out. Thanks. Have you done any samples to show? Digimation still going to handle it? Sanford
Kyle, The commercial is quite pretty, IMHO. As for as I know, it will be shown at Siggraph, but I'm not sure where. The party would be likely. See you there! Sanford
Kyle, There are two submissions possible in the Studio City project. One is low rez, and the other is High rez. We (the Studio City guys) are expecting to finish setting up the project in a few weeks. You really can't do anything more than upload an image of your…
Kyle, Alien City? Well, I have set up a district for Alien aliens in Crater city, the futuristic part of Studio City. I assume you have snooped around the Ashowcase forum? How 'bout building a futuristic metaball building for Crater City? Sanford
Kyle, I could get into doing a whole group of Aliens. It would be fun to do them independently, and see what our different interpretations would be. Then the next step is to build their environments. What does the Puppeteer planet look like? Their houses? Could this be considered Xenobiology?…
Steven, Ringworld….Yes, I have been fascinated by P. pupeteers. I feel like they should be smal, three footed, elephant-like, with no head and the eyestalks of a giant snail. I will have to re-read some material before I get to that beasty/. I will also be building one of those…
Kelly, You want to see bugs? (G) How about a Mosquito (done in 3DS) drinking blood from my cheek? I will upload the JPG to New Files in the ASHOWCASE FORUM. It will be titled "Mosquito bite!" I am planning to model the face of a very loud mouthed Politician…
Kyle, Bugs! Good Ol' Mother Nature put bugs on the menue for critters like American indians, Computer Nerds, and certain big time American politicians …..trust me! (G) The beauty in the IPAS's has hardly been touched for creating wildly fantastical creatures. I have been doing mostly life-like things. But I…
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